Which forks to buy?

[j_whyte]

I want to upgrade the Rock Shox dart 2 forks my bike came with as standard to something a bit lighter and plusher. So here are the two options i've narrowed it down to.
I either spend about £140 and get a pair of magura odur coil forks
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24978
or
I spend about £220 and get a pair of these rock shox reba sl dual air
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=40001

It's obvious which forks are better. I think both forks would be regarded as very good for those prices. I'm just wondering which is better value for money and which pair would be most suitable/adequate for the type of riding i do; which is basically xc trails in the south of england, never riding competitively. Also worth noting i don't do a massive amount of uphill riding.

 

[RedBike]

Perhaps Rockshox Sid would fit the bill better?
It's noticably lighter than the Reba. Its downside was that it always used to flexy when used by heavier riders over rougher terrain although apparently this years fork is much stiffer.

 

[maurice]

I have one of the new SID Race forks and flex is not a problem anymore.

However it is pretty far from plush, I'd go for a Reba for what whyte is after.
Don't really know enough about the Magura to recommend it, but heard Magura are generally reasonably decent.

 

[Berger and Chips]

I have Odurs- they are on my Carrera. I have Toras on my Scott Scale 60 in the Midlands (parents house) and Toras on my new Rockhopper (got this yesterday) in Bristol (where I live). I have a bike in bits with Duke U Turn XC forks (which the Rockhopper replaces) and a full suspension FSR Spesh which I put Marzocchi Bomber Drop Offs on.
The Odurs are by far the best fork of that bunch, light, smooth, adjustable, lockable, quiet during use, and built like a Rolls Royce.
I read an expert review once, don't have the link to hand, the guy said that he rated Odurs second best to Fox forks...
My brother has the more expensive Magura Menjas and they only seem to offer more travel over the Odur (although the Menja is air and the Odur coil).

 

[j_whyte]

i don't think the SID's would fall into my price category, although they do look nice. I think if i'm not prepared to spend more than £200 i will get the Magdura Odurs. Anyone own a pair of reba dual airs or familiar with them?
And what are you really getting for your money over a set of the magdura forks. Thanks

 

[Mr Pig]

I've had RockShox Tora on my bike for about a year now and they're still sticky. I thought they'd bed in but it'd getting annoying.

 

[Berger and Chips]

I noticed on my new Toras on the 3 day old Rockhopper that putting them in hare mode made them noisy/squelchy and feel odd, they are back in tortoise mode now and have no pre-load and feel fine. Not as good as the Maguras, but probably better than the U turn Duke, but those are old and worn and leak a little oil.
The Toras felt basically cheap and rubbishy in full on hare rebound mode.

 

[RedBike]

The Tora forks are normally plusher than the top end Rebas. They are also highly tunable for a coil fork. They also weigh a ton!

They should be setup with the correct amount of pre-load so they sag correctly and then the damping (hare/tortoise) adjusted so that they return as quickly as possible without ever feeling 'springy'.

With no pre-load they wont extend / react to dips in the trail. They also wont react properly to small bumps. Too much pre-load and they will bottom out on larger bumps.

Set with no damping they are effectively a pogo stick and will bounce off every rock. Set with loads of damping they wont have time to return back to full hieght before hitting the next bump.

Having duel air (rebas) makes the fork even more tunable and lighter. Putting more air in has the same effect as switching to a stronger spring / adjusting the pre-load.

I've owned all four forks. Odur, Sid, Reba and the tora u turn.
You can cross the Tora off your list, they're too heavy

The Odur's are great, really stiff and light but they're not the lightest so perhaps not the best for someone keen to go uphill quickly.

The Reba and the SID are expensive

The other option is to get a carbon fork? Lighter than the Sid and cheaper too.
This will probably be my next upgrade to my MTB!

 

[trio25]

Not being rude, but how much do you weigh?

I am too light for coil forks, without having to get the spring changed etc!

I used rebas and really rate them, for the money they are the best lightweight xc fork around and that price is a steal!

Carbon forks red? Most people would not call that an upgrade since you are basically turning your back on suspension and going rigid, more a backwards step!

 

[RedBike]

Carbon forks red? Most people would not call that an upgrade since you are basically turning your back on suspension and going rigid, more a backwards step!

lol Trio.
http://trio25.blogspot.com/2009/06/presents-for-rigger.html

My poor Rebas need a bit of TLC. They haven't been right since I went arse over tit riding down those slabs on the MTL with you. I'm praying that a service and new bushes will sort them out. They are now leaking oil and are rather reluctant to move.

If I can find a set of rigid forks very cheaply I might give those a try instead of spending my money on servicing the Rebas.

Can't argue against the weight difference between carbon forks and Rebas when it comes to going up hill. I'm absolutely terrible coming back down so i can't see what difference no suspension would make!

 

[j_whyte]

I don't think i'll be getting the carbon forks because as trio said i'm looking for a suspension upgrade and carbon forks wouldn't be appropriate.
The reba sl's weight about 1.6kg. I think that would be a good move from the 2.5 the dart 2's weigh.
The tora was never really an option to me, if i was going to go down the coil sprung route i'd get the magura odur's as they're on a special offer.
I think i'm kinda decided on the reba's. 100ml travel should be fine shouldn't it?
Pushloc, poploc, whatloc?
I'm 75kg exactly or 11.81 stone

 

[trio25]

Red I know I have carbom forks, find them great for me, but that isn't what whyte is asking for! I have rebas on my other bike and if I was to get a hardtail with suspension it would be rebas.

The poploc is so you can lock out the forks, climbing etc! It can be handy!

Coil is a lot heavier, you should be fine with your weight though. I would go for air forks personally and with the rebas being such a steal it seems silly not to.

100mm travel is plently for xc, if you want to do more hardcore stuff you might want more, but then there is a weight and cost penatly!

 

[j_whyte]

I've just sold the rockshox dart 2 forks that came as standard on my bike. The realisation that i have no mode of transport until i get some new forks just hit me when i thought 'right lets go get some jerk chicken' and i was unable to act on that wise impulse.

There were a few really good deals on REBA SL's and magura odurs on CRC but they've ended now. There is however a really nice looking manitou fork which retails everywhere else for around £320 reduced to £175. Anyone have any experience or knowledge of these forks or this manufacturer? I'm trying to get those most bang for my buck here.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=36030

 

[trio25]

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-reba-world-cups

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-rockshox-reba-race-1

Not bad prices here.

 

[GilesM]

I have a pair of Reba Race forks on my hardtail, really good, for relaibility, weight, price and doing what a suspension fork should do, I don't think there is anything to better them.